


is this the end of all the endings

by chatsdelune (greymooses)



Series: power couple wonhui [1]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: "lovers" ew, Drinking Games, Jeon Wonwoo Is Bad at Feelings, M/M, Minor Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi/Lee Seokmin | DK, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, actor!jun, also plants, jihan yoonhong whatever you want to call them they're dating apparently, jisoo and soonyoung: tired friends of our main dumbasses, junhui shows affection with food, just throwing it out there that it's not going to be all sunshine and rainbows, law student!wonwoo, minghao is around for a minute being hot and infuriating so nothing new there, past brief soonwoo snuck its ass in there i hate them, penguins as a bonding mechanism, wen jun hui | jun is bad at feelings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 11:13:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29188353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greymooses/pseuds/chatsdelune
Summary: "this," the man says as he pulls a large envelope out of his bag, "is for you.""you're not the lawyer that was supposed to come by.""jeon wonwoo. intern," he drones. he looks tired. "boss had an emergency dinner with his wife. i think she found out about the mistress.""oh."junhui falls down a hole, climbs back up again, and finds something that makes it all worth it.
Relationships: Jeon Wonwoo/Wen Jun Hui | Jun
Series: power couple wonhui [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2019478
Comments: 49
Kudos: 89





	1. we met a few weeks ago

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello and welcome to my new hellbeast? i'm sure kun is great or whatever sorry kun
> 
> i've wanted to write this for a while but didn't have a great idea of how it would go, and then taylor gave us [long story short](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqQHa2HcGtM) and my brain said "power couple wonhui prequel?" and i said "fuck yes." because i have a masochism problem. the other fics are set many years later, so obviously you don't need to read them.
> 
> i have this vaguely outlined and have written ahead a bit, so updates should be somewhat regular? once a week, maybe? i also suspect that later chapters will be longer, this is just setting everything up. guessing in the 8-12 chapter range, depends.
> 
> same typos/weirdness disclaimer as always.

wen junhui's list of acting credits has more entries than he has years on the earth. his list of previous relationships comes close, though he's not sure he'd call most of them relationships as opposed to convenient dalliances with men of a variety of ages after wrap parties or movie premieres.

at least until the last one.

they met at an awards show, in one of the cold hallways beneath the stage when junhui was looking for the bathroom, after the presenters didn't call his name. acting is putting so much of yourself into your work for months at a time, putting yourself out there, and hoping it resonates with people. he's never quite gotten used to handling it when it doesn't seem to.

the guy looked good, like exactly what junhui needed. his group wasn't up for any more awards and had already performed, he'd said. it was easy to pull him into an empty dressing room; difficult to later admit that letting him stay the night meant they should have a discussion about a relationship; more difficult to admit, a few months and half a dozen fucked up auditions later, that he wasn't happy.

his agent called him out on his mood, called his boyfriend a manipulative leech with no hope of a long-lasting career.

_"unlike you, unless you keep letting him drag you down."_

he reacted poorly, walked out on jisoo — probably rattled the walls of his office with the force of the door — but realized a week later he was right.

kun wasn't thrilled. junhui probably shouldn't have parroted his agent during the conversation, in retrospect. 

he brought dinner to jisoo's place with a side of apology and _"i don't want any more scripts."_

jisoo wasn't thrilled. junhui probably shouldn't have made it sound so dramatic, like he was never going to act again. they sorted it out.

it was a long year, after that, of deciding who he was without a director to tell him. he took a private cooking class. he visited his parents and brother. he properly decorated the home he had bought two years prior. he read a lot of books.

jisoo checked in on him every week, at exactly eight o'clock on thursday, so consistently that he could set his watch by it if he bothered wearing one at home. it was six months before he started slipping projects into conversation, feeling him out, and another six before junhui took the bait —

_"got a call from a producer today. you're on a shortlist of people the director has floated for a role, if you're interested in auditioning. just let me send the script over."_

_"okay."_

_"give it a chance, please. you have to get back— wait, did you say okay?"_

— and landed the role.

all of which has led him to this moment, nearly choking on a mouthful of rice because he was in the middle of eating dinner when the doorbell rang and the guy on the other side is not the old dude he was expecting. not even close. he doesn't look much older than junhui, if at all.

"this," the man says as he pulls a large envelope out of his bag, "is for you."

"you're not the lawyer that was supposed to come by."

"jeon wonwoo. intern," he drones. he looks tired. "boss had an emergency dinner with his wife. i think she found out about the mistress."

"oh."

"if you have any questions, you can call me. there's a business card in there with my number. i'll be awake for hours going over briefs."

"i've signed a lot of these. i'm sure i can manage."

"of course, i didn't mean—" wonwoo tries to backtrack.

he's clearly uncomfortable with the task he was given. junhui isn't sure if it's because it's outside his wheelhouse or because of him, but regardless, he's not sadistic enough to let him finish. "i'm messing with you. thank you. sometimes i have questions," he lies. jisoo has already thoroughly reviewed and discussed it with him, but something about wonwoo is some sort of captivating and, well.

wonwoo glances down at his watch and sighs. "i'll let you get back to your meal."

"i'll call you if i need you," junhui says, holding up the envelope.

wonwoo nods and looks like he's going to leave, but he takes a breath instead. "hey, i'm sorry if this is out of line, but your break seems to have been very healing. i'm glad."

junhui is taken aback, but he doesn't _think_ it shows. "office gossip?"

"not entirely," he answers after a moment. his neutral expression remains firmly in place.

junhui briefly considers pressing him for an explanation, but he looks antsy, shifting his weight onto the outsides of his feet and fiddling with his shoulder strap, so he lets him off the hook. "have a nice night with your nerdy documents, jeon wonwoo."

"thanks, wen junhui," wonwoo replies, a nearly imperceptible smile on his lips, and then he's gone.

  
  
after he finished eating, junhui emptied the envelope onto his table. he fiddled with the business card — not even wonwoo's, but one of his boss's with his name and number written on the back — as he read through everything. eventually, he signed the contract, not finding any surprises, and slipped it back into the envelope.

leaving him with the business card.

relationships are definitely not a personal strength.

junhui didn't even know if wonwoo was single, but chances were high, he figured. at the very least, he didn't seem intimidated by junhui the way a lot of people are the first time they meet him. it was a nice change. the hair off his forehead and really cute glasses and suit were all a bonus. the open shirt buttons, too. but all of that aside, jisoo's voice in his head reminded him there are options other than fucking every guy that enters his life.

so he called —

_"i really don't think dinner is a good idea. i have a lot of work to do."_

_"out of curiosity, when's the last time you ate without simultaneously reading some giant hardcover book or a pile of papers with unnecessarily complex sentences?"_

_"just eating?"_

_"free meal. a thank you for bringing the contract over. you can go home right away if you want."_

_"seven. nowhere that requires suits. text me an address and i'll be there."_

— and now he waits in front of his favorite, tiny chinese place with a mask covering the lower half of his face and a hat pulled low over his eyes, oddly nervous.

he almost misses wonwoo entirely when he walks up. he's in casual clothes and a big jacket and his hair isn't styled. it's the glasses that give him away. junhui says his name to catch his attention and gets an adorably confused look at first, followed by one of realization. wonwoo nods at him and reaches for the door.

inside, junhui locks it behind them.

"it's empty," wonwoo says, like he's surprised. 

which seems fair. most business meetings he has — and likely any that wonwoo may have experienced with other actors by way of his internship — are at fancy places with back doors and private rooms.

"i know the owner well. she agreed to close early for me."

"oh. because…" wonwoo trails off, connecting the pieces. "yeah, makes sense."

he doesn't take off. that's a plus.

"i don't get recognized a lot, but it happens. mostly eat at home."

"sounds lonely."

junhui shrugs. "my agent is a good friend. he comes over once in a while. i've thought about getting a cat, but sometimes i'm away for months at a time. it wouldn't be fair."

wonwoo looks at him, but anything he was going to say is cut off by the small, old woman that owns the restaurant coming through the door to the kitchen and greeting junhui.

loudly.

in very quick mandarin.

something akin to "i haven't seen you in ages" and "who is this?" — accompanied by an obvious scan of wonwoo — and "he's very handsome. you'd better keep this one around. you're getting older, you can't be dating random men forever."

he laughs a little when he's answering her and can just barely see wonwoo turn his head to look at him again, questioningly. he shrugs it off as she commands them to sit anywhere.

junhui lets wonwoo choose a booth and follows him into the corner, as far away from the windows and door as they can get. he takes wonwoo's jacket, minus hand warmers he pulls out of the pockets before he passes it to him, and puts it in the next booth with his own.

"what did she have to say?" he asks when junhui sits down. he's got his hands pulled into his sleeves, wrapped around the packets.

"ah, she was lecturing me about not coming in enough and never having a long-term boyfriend. i was here two weeks ago, and haven't brought someone here in a year," junhui explains. he realizes after the fact that he should probably have left out the boyfriend part, but too late now.

"you _are_ getting a little old for that."

"that's not why i asked you to dinner, you know. you just looked… tense last night."

wonwoo shifts in his seat like he wants to say something, but he bumps junhui's knee under the table, then immediately pulls his feet back and apologizes as water is placed in front of them. he ends up distracted by the menu after that. junhui forgets about it.

they order, or junhui orders, after wonwoo tells him what he wants. and then there's silence again, after the woman winks at them both in turn, making it thoroughly awkward.

"what's with the hand warmers?" junhui asks after too many seconds.

"i own a ton of stock in a company that makes them," wonwoo deadpans.

junhui narrows his eyes at him. "i honestly can't tell if you're serious or not. you have a great poker face."

"guess you'll never know," he shrugs.

dinner is dinner, after that. they shake some of the awkwardness when wonwoo gets visibly excited talking about law school, in between bites of food that junhui is frankly amazed he can handle the spice level of. he wasn't going to say anything when he ordered, was kind of looking forward to laughing at his suffering, but that's ruined.

he asks junhui genuine questions about how he got into acting and his favorite film — of his own and not — and listens attentively. he discloses that his roommate is kind of a fan, but he's never watched any of junhui's movies himself.

"i don't have time," he says.

the only thing jeon wonwoo _does_ make time for is video games, he tells junhui, for exactly one hour twice a week to combat stress.

time is a social construct, but it's one wonwoo values deeply, apparently. junhui's day to day life is largely unstructured when he's not filming, but scheduled down to the minute when he is. he's never been sure which he likes more.

in his head, junhui thought maybe he'd take up an hour of wonwoo's night. it ends up being two before he pays the bill for their meal and extra food for each of them to bring home, plus something for wonwoo to bring his roommate. junhui had to badger him into accepting, but it was worth it. it's not like he does a lot with his money.

everything gets quiet as they slip into their jackets. junhui unlocks the door and goes to open it, but wonwoo stops him, immediately staring at his own hand like it's controlled by some demon.

"did you forget something?" junhui asks quietly.

"what?" wonwoo turns his head, stares at him for a second too long, then shakes it. "no, just… thank you for dinner."

"you're welcome. i'd do it again."

"i'm really busy."

junhui shrugs. wonwoo follows him outside, and they stand there for a few seconds in an awkward stalemate. junhui wouldn't feel right walking away first. wonwoo clearly lives in the opposite direction.

"um. so—" wonwoo finally says, shifting to leave.

"i'll see you around, jeon wonwoo."

  


****

  
junhui used to love parties, or at least tolerate them. other attractive men in fancy suits, expensive food, and free alcohol always made for a great time. after kun and his subsequent year off the radar, though, he'd rather be anywhere but here. he tried to get out of it, but jisoo wouldn't let him.

 _"do i_ have _to go?"_

_"yes."_

_"but_ hyung _"._

_"honorifics aren't going to get you out of this one, junnie. jeonghan agrees with me."_

rationally, he knows jisoo was right. he should take advantage of the opportunity to rub elbows with industry people as a way of making it clear he's back and available for future projects. press releases and jeonghan's leaks to tabloids aren't the same as renewed personal connections.

but he still hates parties. the second glass of champagne is helping.

it's when he's getting the third, after smalltalk with two older executives and their wives, that someone sweeps in next to him and requests a cabernet — a glass of which would probably cost as much as two weeks of junhui's groceries if it wasn't an open bar. not that the guy would care.

he recognizes the voice immediately: xu minghao, also known as convenient dalliances three, seven, nine, and eighteen.

"i heard you were here," he says. cool and collected, as usual, with just enough indifference to make junhui wonder why he's talking to him at all. "couldn't believe it."

he has no escape route. he empties his glass instead and grabs a fourth from the line.

"minghao. good to see you."

it's not, and minghao knows it. he spins to face junhui with his stupidly expensive wine in his hand and smiles at him. "you dropped off the face of the earth for a while."

junhui nods once, says, "found my way back," as cordially as he can to someone he hates, in light of them having slept together on more than one occasion. he figures it warrants a certain degree of civility.

"evidently. so do you have a project coming or just socializing?"

"there might be something in the works," junhui replies, but he's distracted by a small group splintering in the corner, leaving behind someone in a blue suit. he's not wearing his glasses, and junhui has no idea why he's here, but it's unmistakably wonwoo, like a fucking angel sent from above to get him out of a dangerous situation because minghao is unfortunately hot and infuriating and probably still great in bed. "ah, i see someone i need to speak to," he says urgently, swiping another champagne flute and dodging around minghao before he can respond.

he can see wonwoo pulling out his phone as he approaches, shifting his weight like he did at junhui's door when he dropped off his contract a couple of weeks ago. he looks up when junhui gets closer, mouth maybe moving a tiny bit like he's pleased, but it's so hard to tell.

"wen junhui," he greets.

"jeon wonwoo." junhui holds out the champagne. "told you i'd see you around."

wonwoo eyes the flute for a moment, but accepts it and takes a sip before he says, "i got dragged down here by some colleagues."

"and then they left you alone."

wonwoo hums. "it does seem that way."

jisoo's voice in his head reminds him, again, that friends are a thing people have. he's not really sure how to do that.

"there's someone floating around that i don't feel like dealing with and i'm guessing you'd rather be at home working. you want to sneak out?"

"is there a reason i can't just walk out the door?"

" _you_ could, but i can't."

"an ex?"

"something like that."

wonwoo is quiet for a moment, fiddling with his glass, and junhui wonders if he's going to turn him down, but he finally shrugs and says, "yeah, sure."

junhui empties his flute and motions for wonwoo to do the same. "there's a back door over by the bar. follow me."

wonwoo nods, and junhui leads him through groups of people, keeping his head low. the bartender is distracted — perfect. he sets his glass down, hears a soft clink behind him as wonwoo does the same, and smoothly snatches two full bottles of champagne from the stash behind the bar. he walks a little faster, after that, down the short hallway and out the door. he turns and grins when he sees wonwoo right behind him.

junhui waves a hand and keeps moving, heading for the front of the building where cabs exist. "very nice sneaking, jeon wonwoo," he says on the way, smiling. "i didn't know if you had it in you."

"you do this often?" wonwoo asks through a laugh. "the champagne grab was a nice touch."

"mm, used to."

"with other guys?"

junhui assumes wonwoo knows he's slept with his fair share of people, what with his roommate being a fan and all. "not always. i never loved parties, and this is the first one i've been to since i came back. would've snuck out with or without you," he explains, as they reach the parking area. he comes to a halt and holds out one of the bottles. "this is for you."

wonwoo quirks an eyebrow at him. "you're trying to give a law student stolen property?"

"is it really stolen if we would've drunk it in there anyway?"

he hesitates for a beat. "i guess not," he decides, reaching for it. "i should get home, but thanks for getting me out of there. it was more fun than i thought i'd have tonight."

"yeah, of course," junhui replies, but then he remembers he has to leave, too, and it's like the restaurant all over again but worse because they're heading in the same direction.

the same realization must dawn on wonwoo because he huffs a laugh. "come on."

they split half a minute later to get into different cabs, no further discussion, just slightly clumsy waves and junhui feeling vaguely upset as his car drives away.

 _friends._ fucking jisoo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have a strong desire to write this for myself, but comments almost always make things easier and often faster and idk this is my weird self-conscious way of saying i try to avoid posting wips but this time around i need the external motivation or for enough people to tell me this blows so comments are so very, very appreciated? or something. i hate being this person haha.
> 
> even if you don't leave something, <3 anyway. i get it, i don't hold it against you.


	2. like a cannonball

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> wonwoo is going through some shit, part one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm early i have no patience. have reread so many times but may have missed a typo or two i apologize as always.

wonwoo scans the same paragraph in a document he's proofreading four times before taking his glasses off and reaching for his phone to set an alarm for a five minute break — at least until it rings in his hand, "catboy" across the screen. junhui. he stares at it for two rings before he remembers he should probably answer it, if he's going to.

it's been eight days since they ran into each other again. not that he's been counting, because he hasn't been counting _that,_ he just tends to count days.

maybe against his better judgement, he taps the green button. "hello?"

"um, hi, it's junhui."

"i know. i saved your number."

"please never lose your phone. i'm tired of changing it."

"do i strike you as the kind of person who would lose their phone? or not have adequate security features turned on? besides, i saved it as 'catboy'."

"catboy."

he shrugs, even though junhui can't see him. "you remind me of a cat."

"fair enough. are you hungry?"

wonwoo checks his watch, glances at the pile of papers in front of him. "i was going to eat my roommate's leftovers while he's at work."

"is that a yes?"

"i can't leave, i have a ton of shit to proof—"

"let me bring you food," junhui interrupts.

"you don't have to."

"you can just say no, but you saved me from making some bad choices at the party. i feel like i owe you."

he probably should say no. if anything he owes junhui for dinner before, except he claimed that one was to thank him for bringing over the contract, like it wasn't wonwoo's job in the first place. it's a slippery, convoluted slope. 

"surprise me," wonwoo says instead, and he gives junhui his address. "nothing that lived in the ocean."

"got it."

  
  
junhui shows up with enough bags for five or six people, hat and mask on, same as when he was waiting outside the restaurant.

"i brought options," he says when wonwoo opens the door.

wonwoo steps back to let him inside. "i see that."

he finds the dining area immediately. it's not exactly difficult in an apartment with an open floor plan.

wonwoo is watching him unpack everything on his and soonyoung's tiny table when it occurs to him that their apartment is small. or smaller than junhui's house, even though that isn't particularly large to begin with. he's clearly more concerned with spending his money in other ways, like feeding people, and probably isn't judging the size of his two-bedroom place. but it's still a little strange to have an actor in it. a successful one who has to obscure his features to some degree when he goes outside, who just took off his mask and hat and has hair going in every direction and doesn't seem to care.

"what did the chicken do to you?" junhui asks, pulling him out of his head.

and yeah. he's been staring at the box of chicken for god only knows how long.

"nothing," he says, shaking his head. "i'm just tired. thanks for this."

"you're welcome," junhui replies, running a hand through his hair to finally flatten the strands disturbed by his hat before picking it up again.

"you're helping me eat some of it, right?"

he pauses for a second before he says, "i wasn't going to."

"i really do have stuff to do," wonwoo tells him as he gathers papers from the sofa, "so i'm going to be terrible company, but you can stay. if you want, i mean. there's enough food, obviously."

"your persuasive skills could use work if you're going to make it as a lawyer."

"on second thought, maybe i can eat all of this on my own."

junhui shifts his weight and looks at the food spread out on the table. a moment later, he pulls a chair out and sits down, so wonwoo grabs an extra plate and glass from the cabinet. evidently he's staying.

he gestures at everything and waits for wonwoo to take what he wants before putting food onto his own plate and pouring soda into both of their glasses.

he loves soonyoung, but he would never.

and that's the thing. for someone who could have the whole world at his feet and everyone around him whipped into subservience, junhui is polite. maybe even well-adjusted, chaotic champagne pilfering aside. lawyers in wonwoo's office are more pompous, with considerably fewer achievements to justify it.

it turns out it's nice, having someone there who doesn't ask him what he's doing every two minutes. he's able to work and eat and for once it's not ramen.

junhui clears his throat just as wonwoo sees him, at the very edge of his line of sight, reaching for a piece of chicken. "hey, sorry to interrupt—"

wonwoo looks up. "it's fine."

"when is your roommate supposed to be home?"

it's a very valid reason to interrupt.

"he'll be at work for another hour," wonwoo answers, after checking his watch. "i would've kicked you out before then. he doesn't know you're the person i got dinner with, either." junhui visibly relaxes. wonwoo wishes he'd mentioned it sooner. "and even if he came home early, he'd be surprised but he wouldn't try to steal a piece of your hair to keep in a locket or anything."

"have you lived together for a while?"

"since we started university, but we've known each other for like ten years. he can be loud, but he's harmless."

junhui doesn't reply. he seems more pensive than anything. wonwoo's attention falls back to his proofreading, at least until there's movement in front of him and he realizes junhui is taking his empty plate. he's already packed all the food back up.

wonwoo isn't sure how he missed it, but his mother would probably be appalled he's letting a guest clean. "you don't have to do that."

"you're paying a lot of attention to me for someone who insisted he'd be terrible company."

"your definition of a lot of attention is different than soonyoung's, i guess."

"that's your roommate?"

"yeah."

"maybe so," he replies, unbothered.

"you should probably leave if you don't want to run into him."

junhui checks his phone, makes a face and says, "good call."

"told you i'd kick you out before he got home."

"i appreciate it. make sure you guys eat all the leftovers," junhui says as he adjusts his hat on his head.

"we will."

"good. let me know when you run out and i'd be happy to bring more," he offers, standing next to the door like he's waiting for something. "sit here and not talk, if you want."

wonwoo raises his eyebrows. "you're okay with sitting in my tiny apartment and not talking?"

"tiny apartment comment aside, we're talking now."

wonwoo stands and walks over. "riveting conversation for you?"

"you'd be surprised."

wonwoo wants to ask why _him,_ but he's not sure how to do that without sounding rude. "you need plants," wonwoo says decisively. "they're great conversationalists. but i'll let you know."

junhui just smirks before his mask covers his face, and then he lets himself out.

wonwoo stands there for a minute, because it's all very surreal, before he remembers where he is and what he was doing. he takes his work back to the sofa, but he finds himself reading the same paragraph too many times again.

he gets up and checks the fridge — still full of all the food junhui brought, so it wasn't a dream or a hallucination caused by sleep deprivation.

wen junhui was actually in his place. while he was working. interrupting him. and he's not upset about it. the food was a bonus; it was the presence of another person but absence of meaningless conversation that was nice, as long as he doesn't think too hard about the number of people that have seen at least one of junhui's movies, and how soonyoung is one of them.

he can't even tell soonyoung.

god.

  
  
he's finally gotten back on track, only to be interrupted by soonyoung getting home. he waves but doesn't talk, just passes through to his bathroom to shower. he changes at work, but the smell of fish follows him anyway, always does, and it throws wonwoo off for a few minutes.

he manages to finish another handful of pages before soonyoung emerges again. it's more than he thought he'd be able to get done. soonyoung goes right to the kitchen and rifles around in the fridge, muttering to himself. wonwoo pinches the bridge of his nose and tries to breathe.

"where did all the food come from?" he finally asks. wonwoo can hear the confusion in his voice before he even looks up to see it on his face, and shit.

he hadn't thought that far ahead.

he _always_ thinks that far ahead.

"hello to you, too."

"good evening, love of my life," soonyoung coos sweetly, then switches back to normal to repeat, "where did all the food come from?"

wonwoo snorts. "work," he lies. "big company lunch, plenty of leftovers." soonyoung squints at him around the refrigerator door, so he adds, "help yourself to whatever." he likes food. maybe it'll distract him. they don't lie to each other, but if anything qualifies as extenuating circumstances, it's this. no jury would convict him of being a bad friend, surely.

he's not sure if soonyoung believes him or not, but he drops the subject. wonwoo watches as he seemingly decides food is better than any questions he has and takes a few different containers out, loading up a plate like he's at a buffet. might as well be, with all the food junhui brought over.

"how was work?" wonwoo asks, hoping to get the catching up on their days out of the way so he can finish up before midnight. he has an early class before he has to head to the office.

"good. lots of kids to watch the penguin feeding tonight."

"did anything exciting happen?"

penguin stories are better than tv dramas. so much betrayal. so many broken penguin hearts.

soonyoung hums, thinking, while he puts everything back in the fridge. "oh! you know how noodle and matcha broke up?"

"there's _more_ noodle and matcha drama?" wonwoo asks. matcha had been cheating on her lifelong partner. it's very tragic.

"you have _no_ idea," soonyoung groans. "but matcha moved in with noodle's best friend."

"oh my god."

"i feel bad for the guy," soonyoung admits as he sits at the table — where junhui was, like half an hour ago. if only he knew. it's at least a little bit funny, in a sardonic kind of way, and wonwoo has to try to not laugh. "and soju got in the water by herself today."

wonwoo gasps, mostly for soonyoung’s benefit, though he's at least a little surprised himself. "i hope she got extra fish."

"of course. she did it during feeding and i was so excited that i probably scared some people. had to explain that she's mostly blind."

"i'm sure the kids loved it."

"maybe. this is really good," soonyoung says, mouth half full, pointing vaguely at the table with his chopsticks. "where'd you get it again?"

"i don't know where it was ordered from. someone else took care of it." it's not technically a lie.

he focuses on eating for some period of time — long enough for wonwoo to rest his eyes because trying to read is useless — before he asks, "what about you? anything exciting?"

wonwoo sighs. "same as every day." extenuating circumstances. "too much to do and not enough time. i'm a little behind, actually," he hints. "hoping to finish in the next few hours."

soonyoung hums. "point taken. i'm tired, anyway, and i'm doing a long shift tomorrow."

"otters?"

"otters and penguins," he tells him, pushing back from the table and bringing his plate to the sink. "might get some time with the tigers, too."

"sounds like a perfect day for you."

"yeah," soonyoung replies, smiling. "i'll bring home plenty of gossip, i'm sure."

wonwoo's not exaggerating when he says, "i'll look forward to updates on matcha's new beau and noodle's broken penguin heart all day."

soonyoung nods. "good night, dear," he says cheerfully, padding his way to his room.

wonwoo rolls his eyes, but raises his voice anyway. "sleep well."

once soonyoung's door clicks shut, he checks the time and flips through his files. three and a half hours until midnight versus thirty briefs, plus three contracts waiting online for him to review before his morning class. doable, but not great.

he has a fleeting thought about junhui and his feelings towards penguins, but pushes it aside easily enough and gets to work.

***

wonwoo asks the next time junhui comes over, a week later when wonwoo texts him that, as requested, he's letting him know all of the extra food was consumed. he may have intentionally waited until soonyoung was working an afternoon shift, not necessarily because he wanted more free takeout, but because he wouldn't object to having junhui stick around.

he brought food anyway, because of course he did. too much of it, and let wonwoo know that he does this with his agent, too — brings food whenever he sees him — so if they're going to be friends, he should just get used to it.

wonwoo stares him down, junhui wins, and wonwoo says that he'll try.

apparently junhui _loves_ penguins. by the time they're finished eating, he's enthralled by the noodle and matcha saga, has been briefed on other interesting penguin relationships, and is as proud of soju as wonwoo and soonyoung are.

on the way out the door, he says to let him know, again, when they eat everything he's left in their fridge. wonwoo rolls his eyes, but junhui just squints at him, mouth in a straight line. he looks ridiculous. wonwoo says, again, that he'll try.

***

**catboy**

you're either not eating enough  
or you've been out of food for days and haven't told me. 😒

… both, probably.  
i've been busy.

you can't be busy if you don't eat. because you'll be dead.

revolutionary commentary.

so what can i get you?  
🍠  
🥧  
🍜  
🍚  
🍕  
🍔  
🥩  
🍗  
🥞  
🍰  
?

are you done?

it's not an all-inclusive list, but yes.

pancakes? really?

what's wrong with pancakes?

for dinner?

must pancakes be relegated to breakfast?

… you may have a point.

glad we agree.  
okay, pancakes. what else?

… burger?

interesting combo, but i support it.  
roommate?

he's at work for the next three hours.

i'll be there in a bit.

thank you.

  
  


junhui shows up half an hour later. wonwoo steps to the side to let him in and he goes right to the table to start unpacking everything.

"so i've been thinking about what you said a couple weeks ago about plants," junhui muses over the rustling of plastic.

"really," wonwoo replies, moving to get two sets of dishes from the small kitchen. "and?"

"i did some research. found a handful of options but i was hoping you'd help me choose one to start with."

"just one?" he asks, laying plates down opposite each other.

junhui has already pulled off his hat and mask. he looks completely serious as he separates the food containers. "do they need friends? should i get two kinds?"

"you need to be careful and make sure your types will get along, if you do."

"oh, like fish."

wonwoo stares, trying to decide if junhui's fucking with him right back or he really doesn't know that a bamboo plant and a pothos would in fact _not_ have a battle to the death in his living room. his concerned expression doesn't move, but he _does_ do this for a living. wonwoo breaks first, he can't help it. the laugh gets stuck in his throat, but it's enough to make junhui smirk.

"i'm open to getting more than one, but i can't decide which ones."

"i'll help you," he offers as he retrieves a book from the sofa, "if you don't judge me for reading case law while i eat."

"god, your life sounds so boring. don't you ever get tired of studying?"

wonwoo opens his book next to his pancakes and just says, "you're judging me."

junhui laughs quietly, more a puff of air, but he leaves wonwoo alone for a while.

he's not sure how long it is before he tries to pick up a piece of pancake that isn't there and looks up. junhui's done, leaning back in his chair with his phone in his hands. he seems perfectly content, but there's a certain sadness to it anyway. wonwoo isn't sure he could do what junhui does, needing to be cautious when he leaves his house, not really having anyone he's particularly close to who doesn't also handle his professional life.

he clears his throat.

junhui mumbles, "hi," but he doesn't look up from his phone.

"plants?"

"a game. you looked very focused. figured you'd run out of food eventually."

wonwoo shifts in his chair. "oh."

"i'm okay waiting, unless you want me to leave," junhui adds quickly. "i do still want your help though, if you have time."

he checks his watch and finds it's not as late as he thought it would be. he made it through more reading than he expected to, even with eating slowing him down. "yeah, i have time." he stands and moves his chair so he can see junhui's phone.

junhui already has a website open in a tab when he opens his browser, in the section for 'beginner' plants. wonwoo peers over as he scrolls down the page and recognizes most of them — good in most light, forgiving watering requirements.

"i think you need bamboo, first of all," he says when he sees it. "for your kitchen island." junhui hums and adds it to his cart. "a pothos would be cool on that shelf you have in your entryway, or a succulent. maybe put the pothos in your bedroom window."

"you know too much about my house."

wonwoo shrugs. "i'm observant, but it's not exactly unreasonable to assume you have a bedroom window," he replies, reaching over junhui's arm to add a pothos to his cart.

"and impatient."

"succulents, please." wonwoo isn't surprised to see a ton of options when junhui navigates to them. "this one is kind of up to you. some can be picky about light, but i'm guessing you'll be able to find somewhere in that house that works for whatever you think is nice."

he watches while junhui picks a few, then goes through purchasing them. he uses an alias for the shipping address, and his payment details have a second. it's not hard to understand the reasoning, but it's another stark reminder that their lives are very different, even if it doesn't feel that way in the few moments they've had like this.

wonwoo moves his chair back to the other side of the table while junhui is reviewing everything, or opening his game again, who knows really. he bites his lip and draws up a tiny 'pros and cons of asking' list in his head, the primary pro being that it will continue to drive him crazy if he doesn't. "can i ask you a question?"

he doesn't look up, just says, "sure."

"why me?"

"what do you mean?"

"i'm nobody."

that one catches his attention. "you're absolutely _somebody._ you mean you can order things online without using a fake name."

"yeah, i guess."

junhui shrugs. "i don't know if you've noticed, but i'm not exactly the kind of guy who enjoys the whole industry scene, not anymore. actors, idols, whoever — it's all still new for a lot of them. i've been acting since i was six. i was getting into shit before most of my peers even joined an agency."

"so you're using me for my boring life?"

"that and the plant knowledge," junhui jokes.

wonwoo smiles. "can't forget the penguin gossip."

"oh, definitely," he agrees. "honestly, though, i've met plenty of interns and assistants. no one has been as apathetic about me as you were. makes me think you got into this because it's a passion, not because it's a way to get close to famous people. then you got all concerned about taking that hijacked champagne, so i figured you probably wouldn't try something as illegal as murdering me if i came over."

wonwoo hums thoughtfully. "yeah, legality aside, all of the cleanup would take _way_ too long."

"exactly. anyway, your life is boring, but that doesn't mean you are. a lot of the people you seem to think i should be friends with are so fucking vapid, you have no idea."

"not ones to let you bring them pancakes for dinner and help you pick out plants?" he asks, maybe more mockingly than he should.

"i'd be banished for even _mentioning_ pancakes and they'd recommend an interior designer because they have a party to get to. does that answer your question?"

"yeah, it does. thanks."

junhui stands and stuffs his phone into his pocket. "good. get back to your case law, jeon wonwoo. i'll clean this up, and then i should probably go."

wonwoo checks his watch. he's right.

junhui hums while gets everything in the fridge and washes their dishes. it's nothing wonwoo recognizes. when he asks, he says it's a chinese artist that he likes, that he can send wonwoo some recommendations if he wants. he agrees, because why not. whatever he's humming sounds calming and he's always looking for ways to occupy the side of his brain that distracts him when he's working.

he registers shuffling near him a few minutes later — junhui donning his mask and hat so he can go outside. wonwoo already can't imagine what it might be like to answer the door and see him without them. 

he unfolds his legs to stand, but junhui holds a hand out to signal he shouldn't. "read. i can let myself out. i'll send you songs when i think of them."

wonwoo briefly considers arguing, but pulls a leg back up onto the chair in the end. "send me pictures of the plants, too."

"oh, of course. i'll need you to help name them."

"you can pay me back with more free food."

"sounds like an excellent plan." he opens the door, fiddles with the lock, and waves frantically as he closes it behind him, like someone or something is hauling him away.

wonwoo shakes his head and laughs quietly.

**catboy**

you're ridiculous.

yes.  
see you later. 😏

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *flails in lieu of words*. anyway. comments are food even if it's one dumb thing you liked thanks for coming see you next week.


	3. like tryin on clothes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> thank god junhui has jisoo to tell him what feelings are

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm shocked i'm posting this on saturday, tbh. really didn't think it would happen. anyway there's nothing bad here, all fluff, but honestly, i'm sorry for all of it. and also that it's only like 3k, but i really wanted to... well. no spoilers.

junhui is chopping vegetables when his phone rings. he hits answer and speaker in quick succession with his pinky — the only finger not covered in minced garlic — before he says hello.

wonwoo greets him with, "so, i have a matcha update." his voice absolutely fills the kitchen, all stainless steel and marble, with warmth.

"penguin drama. love it. shoot," he replies casually.

"she's stealing pebbles from nests. noodle's nest, specifically."

"matcha, _no._ "

wonwoo laughs. "matcha, yes, apparently."

"any soju news?" junhui asks as he reaches for his spice rack.

"no, he hasn't mentioned anything. you'll be the first to hear when he does. what are you doing? it sounds like i'm on speaker."

"cooking. jisoo is coming over in a bit."

"that's a new name," wonwoo notes.

"my agent."

"ah."

"what about you?"

wonwoo hums. "studying, of course."

"of course," junhui replies. he pushes everything from his cutting board into a pot on the stove and asks, "hey, if you could eat anything for dinner, what would it be?" before dumping in a mixture of spices.

wonwoo pauses. probably deciding whether to risk telling him, because he likely knows what's coming — should by now, at least — or turning him down. "that place you took me," he finally answers.

"same thing you ordered?"

"you remember what i ordered?"

"i memorize lines for a living, jeon wonwoo. i'll have it delivered. a thank you for the penguin update. what about soonyoung? is he home?"

"he is."

"i'll have her send an assortment of dishes."

wonwoo hesitates for a moment. "i'm going to have a hard time explaining that."

"hang on, i need to get water," junhui replies — and he really does, and won't be able to hear well, but it's half an excuse to think because wonwoo has a point. he knows he's lying to his roommate, at the very least by omission. junhui never asked him to, but he hasn't really thought about whether it would be okay for him to tell soonyoung, either. he's someone important in wonwoo's life, and junhui likes having a friend who only exists on the periphery of the industry, so their paths might cross eventually. he should probably know at some point. "tell him a client sent it?" he offers, placing the pot back on the burner. a baby step. "for helping with a multitude of issues."

"that's an idea," wonwoo replies after a few seconds, probably spent considering it.

junhui thinks he might've made it weird. he could be imagining it. he clears his throat, says, "i should go, jisoo is going to be here soon."

"right," wonwoo says. his tone sounds different, but junhui can't read it.

"i'll call the restaurant."

there's a beat before wonwoo speaks again. "you know i didn't call for free food, right?"

"thought never crossed my mind. i brought it up."

"okay," he says, a little closer to normal. "i'm still waiting to hear about those plants, by the way."

junhui smiles. "they're not here yet, but you'll definitely hear about them when they are. have a good night."

"you, too," wonwoo replies, and the call drops, plunging his kitchen into disorienting silence.

  
  
junhui was restless before wonwoo called.

junhui is almost never restless.

he assumed it was because his birthday is around the corner. he gets like this every year — a little freaked out by more time passing in what is essentially solitary confinement, leaving more and more of himself on some memory card, bits of which end up swallowed by the editing room floor. granted, he didn't do any of that this past year. in retrospect, he should've realized his assumption was wrong.

he cleaned his entire kitchen, even though it was already clean. he watched too many videos about plants, and then cats. he went for a walk. nothing helped, so he called jisoo — 

_"can you come over for dinner? i'll cook."_

_"is everything okay?"_

_"i'm not dying or anything."_

_"reassuring. seven?"_

— and after an hour-long nap, he started cooking.

then he talked to wonwoo, and ordered delivery for him, and a lot of the restlessness went away. at least as much of it as he thought dinner with jisoo might banish, which could be mildly concerning. he doesn't really _want_ to think about it, but he can't stop, and the rest of the cooking is done on autopilot before jisoo knocks on his door.

he brought wine.

of course he did.

he helps himself to a wine glass and junhui's corkscrew — to be honest, he's the only reason junhui keeps them around — and doesn't say anything until his glass is filled to the optimal level. junhui dishes out dinner in the meantime. they've been doing this for long enough that the routine itself is comforting.

"okay, so you don't look like you're dying," jisoo says, squinting at him.

"i told you i wasn't."

"yeah, but you're _you._ "

junhui ignores the implication and hands jisoo chopsticks. "anyway, you have to help me."

"what now?"

"there's a guy."

"christ," jisoo mutters. "you know there are options other than fucking every guy you cross paths with, right?" he asks before putting food in his mouth.

"i didn't fuck him, i took him to dinner," junhui replies defensively. "and took him dinner. a lot."

jisoo is still chewing when he calmly switches his chopsticks for his phone and starts tapping at the screen.

"hello?" junhui asks, waving his hand in front of his face. "client with an emergency here."

"hold on, jeonghan's going to love this."

junhui rolls his eyes. "i'm not a complete idiot. no one saw me."

"oh, i know. we would've heard about it by now."

"this is your fault."

jisoo laughs. "i didn't even _know_ before a minute ago."

"the tiny jisoo in my brain said 'be friends with him!'" — 

"we literally never had that conversation, junnie."

— "and now i think i like him."

"wait," jisoo replies, lifting his head enough to look at him, "you're not fucking with me."

"why would i be fucking with you?"

jisoo raises his eyebrows at him and yeah, okay, maybe junhui has given him and jeonghan plenty of shit in the past, but he's been good for a _over a year._

jisoo turns back to his phone, chopsticks still abandoned. he smiles, probably at something jeonghan said, and asks, "who is he?"

"a muggle," junhui sighs, prodding at his own untouched food.

"is he going to go around selling photos of you?"

"no," junhui replies immediately, positive that wonwoo would never, even if they would fetch a decent price.

jisoo shrugs. "sounds like a personal problem."

"you're supposed to be my _friend,_ " junhui whines. he'd stomp a foot like a child if he were standing.

"you said client with emergency and kicked me into work mode, but okay," jisoo tells him, setting his phone back down. he takes a sip of wine and his voice softens considerably when he picks the chopsticks back up. "friend here. how can i help?"

junhui sighs. "how did you know you liked jeonghan?"

jisoo makes a face at him, as if he's asking how scientists truly know the earth isn't flat or telling him he got abducted and probed by aliens last night.

"it's a serious question. you know i don't do this. i never wanted to see the people i slept with ever again."

"didn't you sleep with xu minghao like three times?"

"four, and that doesn't mean i enjoyed his company when we weren't actively fucking."

"my mistake," jisoo replies. "but you enjoy this guy's company, even though you haven't had sex?"

"wonwoo," junhui says, because it feels important.

"there's very little chance i'm going to remember that, but okay. is he attractive?"

suits and glasses and styled hair flash into junhui's head, followed by messy, fluffy hair and hoodies and jeans. "objectively speaking."

"and you don't want to sleep with him?"

junhui thinks for a few seconds. maybe he had wanted to when they met, but. "not really?"

jisoo shrugs again. "sounds like you just like him, like, as a person. that's probably new and confusing. you've told me you didn't exactly have friends growing up, and you didn't even really like kun that much."

"you're a person and i like you just fine."

"i'm your agent. he's a guy that you get along with, completely unrelated to work. it's different," jisoo counters. "i think you're worrying about nothing."

junhui gets up and grabs another wine glass before stealing jisoo's bottle. he made good points, and he's usually right about people things. junhui doesn't have any interest in getting wonwoo naked. huge relief.

they talk about mundane things as they finish dinner and the wine: work, jeonghan, the new planner jisoo bought with rabbits all over the pages because he still uses a paper one. it's baffling. he's planning a romantic getaway that junhui truly doesn't want to think about, but he assures him jeonghan will probably like it, even as his nose is scrunched up in mild disgust at the idea of what they're going to get up to.

junhui changes the subject eventually. talking about his left shoe would be less terrible than thinking about his agent and publicist in any state of undress, but the first things he can think of that aren't his shoe are matcha and soju and the plants he has on the way. jisoo listens as he rambles, but he gives junhui a weird, concerned look when he mentions the penguin drama came from wonwoo by way of his roommate, and that he helped pick out the plants, too.

"soonyoung doesn't know i'm me, don't worry on behalf of jeonghan or anything."

"soonyoung is…" jisoo trails off questioningly.

"wonwoo's roommate. he works at the zoo."

jisoo stares at him again for a second, then checks his watch and sighs. "i should take off. jeonghan was expecting me to be late, but it's getting _really_ late. are you okay?"

"yeah. appreciate you coming over on short notice," junhui says, sliding off his stool. "do you want the rest of this to take home to him?"

"sure."

junhui packs everything up and gives jisoo a hug on his way out the door. he takes some time to clean everything up, then checks his phone before he goes to shower. he finds a message waiting from an hour ago.

**jeon wonwoo**

you didn't have to send us half the menu.  
soonyoung wanted me to thank the mysterious benefactor for him.  
so thank you.

😸

hey. how was your dinner?  
i wouldn't have pegged you for a home cook.

it was good! jisoo always brings too much wine.  
i've always been able to cook, but i had private lessons last year.  
now i'm an even better cook.

nice.  
i'm in the middle of something and need to go.  
but thanks again from both of us.

don't stay up too late. brains need rest.

you sound like soonyoung.  
i won't.

***

junhui found plants on his doorstep when he got home from a quick trip to the store, or a box that likely contains them at least. he hasn't ordered much else recently and the box has arrows on the side, thankfully pointing up, so safe to say it's probably them.

after his few groceries are put away, he takes the time to unpack the box — definitely plants. he sets the bamboo out on his island, the pothos on the shelving in his entryway like wonwoo suggested. they're all on the smaller side, but the succulents are obviously the youngest. he chooses starter homes for them based on how much sunlight they need, detailed on little tags in their pots. when he's done, he goes around taking pictures to send wonwoo later, when he's not likely to be in class or at work.

the waiting is excruciating.

he grabs a book and tries to read, but he doesn't get very far. he can see one of the succulents out of the corner of his eye and it's incredibly distracting. the green is really nice, he thinks. something living to offset the overall monochrome appearance of his place, in corners where he doesn't have colored furniture or art pieces.

_"you need plants. they're great conversationalists."_

maybe he closes his book. maybe he goes around talking to them. some of the videos he watched encouraged it, too, so he doesn't feel that mad hatter-esque about it. honestly, he talks to himself a lot anyway, so what's the difference. the panda plant that he put in the window next to his tv is especially easy to talk to, with fuzzy leaves. it's almost like a cat. sort of.

after he's had short chats with all of his new children, he wastes another two hours playing a game on his phone. hunger sets in eventually and he realizes it's late enough that wonwoo should be free. he wastes absolutely no time texting him all the photos and gets a call a few minutes later, as he's waiting for his oven to preheat.

"i'm in love with them all," wonwoo says when he picks up. "you went with the entryway for the pothos?"

"for now, yeah. should i move it?"

"no. i think it looks good there, from the picture."

"thanks for your help. they really are great conversationalists."

wonwoo laughs quietly. "i told you. any thoughts about names?"

"not yet. i didn't interrupt you, did i?"

"no, not really. i just got home. i need to shower and change before i dig into studying."

"go," junhui tells him. "i would hate to throw your schedule off more than i already have."

"i'm the one who called," wonwoo argues, but it's a hollow one.

"go, go," junhui orders. "shower and change and read your boring files on your sofa all night." his oven beeps behind him and he adds, "even my oven thinks your phone time is up."

"i'm pretty sure your oven has no opinion on how i spend my time and is only warm enough to use," he quips, mostly through a laugh. junhui can hear the grin.

"shit, you caught us."

wonwoo laughs again. "we both need to go. i'll talk to you later," he says, and hangs up after junhui agrees.

***

it was a bad idea.

junhui knows it was a bad idea.

a downright terrible idea, if he's completely honest. jeonghan is going to strangle him for not giving him a heads up if he's recognized, but he couldn't help himself. he gets _bored._ wonwoo has told him about animals other than the penguins the few times they've talked over the last week and a half. he likes animals. his birthday is in a few days.

it's going to be fine, probably.

he buys his ticket online so all he has to do is silently let them scan his phone. he sticks a bucket hat on his head and a mask over his face, takes a private uber and hopes for the best, because he really doesn't want to run into anyone today.

junhui doesn't know if soonyoung is working, or if he's definitely with the penguins, or what he looks like, but he scheduled his visit around one of the feeding times anyway. he makes his way directly to the exhibit with the help of a map handed to him on the way in. it doesn't start for another ten minutes, but a couple of people are moving around inside the enclosure anyway, cleaning and setting up, and there are plenty of guests waiting. one of the workers is a man who looks to be about his age, but he reminds himself that it hardly means anything.

his height is a blessing, allowing him to stand towards the back of the crowd and still see what's going on, which — aside from people with tall boots and some penguins waddling around on the rocks — is not much at the moment. the penguins are very cute, though. poor noodle is in there somewhere with his broken heart, along with matcha the two-timing thief, he thinks. someone in front of him shifts and he gets a view of a penguin following one of the keepers and wonders if it's soju.

overall, even if soonyoung isn't here, the trip was worth it just for this, and he still has the rest of the animals to check out, too.

a voice comes over the speaker before he realizes time has passed. it's the guy, greeting everyone and talking a bit about the penguins. his voice is very soothing, somehow. warm, like wonwoo's. the one following him around was soju after all and junhui is obsessed, barely listening until he hears it — the other worker taking over the speech and mentioning "soonyoung," as the guy crouches down and starts tossing fish from a bucket into the water.

so that's him, then. has to be. it seems unlikely there would be more than one soonyoung here.

huh.

and it hits him, then. junhui has had his fair share of fans do things like hide behind trees because they're too afraid to walk up to him, or in corners of stores, peering around the concession stand at the movie theater from their hiding spot next to the soda machines, all like they believe he can't feel eyes on him. he's doing the same thing to wonwoo's roommate. an actor sneakily checking out a fan. this can't be sane, or well-advised.

soonyoung is very sweet with the animals, though. his smile is bright and on display almost constantly, not even for the benefit of the crowd. he knows fake smiles, and that isn't one of them. he seems genuinely happy about what he's doing, and anyone who sticks their arm in a bucket of fish and talks to people on a regular basis and _still_ has that smile on his face can't possibly be bad.

which wonwoo told him, but he still had to see for himself.

he's lucky enough that the woman talking happens to spot noodle and matcha. she tells their recent divorce story — the one that junhui already knows — so he sneaks away before the feeding ends and the crowd scatters. too many unpredictable eyes.

he checks out as many cats as he can, including meerkats, which aren't cats at all but _are_ very cute.

on the way out, he quite literally runs into someone in the gift shop. he's wearing a shirt with the zoo logo on it, doesn't seem to recognize him, and apologizes profusely. junhui waves it off, buys a small, dumb plastic snow globe, and gets out of there, ordering a car as soon as he exits the gates.

he has things to think about or whatever.

***

there are a few people junhui might expect to show up at his door, unannounced, on his birthday.

wonwoo isn't one of them, especially in the middle of the day.

he's holding a plant and looks down at it when he notices junhui looking. "an air plant. your patio doors are so boring. it'll like hanging there. can i come in?" he asks. his voice echoes in the entryway.

and the thing about junhui's home is that it's _his_ space. jisoo is allowed in because he's jisoo, but he never has anyone else over. everyone he fucked, he fucked at their place or in hotel rooms. kun was an exception, at least a handful of times, and he's regretted it ever since — which makes it all the more perplexing when his mouth says, "sure," and he steps away from the door.

but he's wearing a shirt that clings to his arms and jeans with holes over the knees and junhui doesn't want to sleep with him. he's been in wonwoo's apartment a bunch, so it's only fair. another jisoo. no big deal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> look i'm sorry i just really like zoos. how about that mysterious gift shop stranger though.
> 
> anyway, i'm sorry. i really, really am. i hate cliffhangers so much. it was necessary, i swear.


	4. the armor falls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> wonwoo is going through some shit, part two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uhhh. hi, sorry this is late. things and whatnots.
> 
> i am my own beta, so as usual, weirdness or typos or whatever, very sorry, i'll catch them at some point.
> 
> idk shit about authentic chinese food i was limited to like twenty minutes of research so don't flog me or anything. i think i made safe choices.
> 
> editing to link [this](https://www.vlive.tv/video/74874) fantastic minute and a half vlive clip of wonwoo eating and talking about cereal.

wonwoo was enjoying his utterly unhealthy bowl of cereal this morning when soonyoung brought it up — 

_"what do i have to do to convince you to watch at least one movie with me? i know you can spare an hour and a half."_

_"haven't you seen them all at least twice?"_

_"yeah, but it's his birthday."_

— and wonwoo almost choked.

he had to cave. he didn't have an excuse, beyond "i really don't want to watch wen junhui on a screen because i've known him for like three months and haven't told you. by the way, he's the one responsible for all the food in the fridge all the time and he's been in our apartment more than once." he sure as hell wasn't about to say that.

besides, soonyoung's birthday is in less than a week. wonwoo figured it could be his birthday present or something.

he tried to avoid thinking about how weird it was, watching junhui in some romantic drama bullshit, but he was hyperaware, the entire time, that _that_ was not wen junhui. not even close, except maybe his laugh. actors, wonwoo supposes. at the same time, it very clearly _was_ wen junhui, going around pining over some actress playing another character. he mentally checked out around the time kissing started happening, with soonyoung sighing dreamily beside him.

the minute it was over, he told soonyoung he had to go out. he had purchased an air plant to add to junhui's collection, planning to give it to him the next time he saw him, but he decided that obviously should be today. because it's his birthday, apparently, but also because he needed to see _actual_ junhui or it was going to drive him insane. he threw on whatever he could find first, and his roommate had been so busy staring at the tv that he didn't question why wonwoo was leaving the apartment with the plant he supposedly bought for himself.

anyway, now he's sitting at junhui's kitchen island, where the air plant is hanging out next to the bamboo until he decides which side of the patio doors to hang it on, and watching him cook lunch for the both of them.

_"happy birthday."_

_"how did you know?"_

_"soonyoung."_

_"ah. you hungry? i was going to make lunch."_

the inside of his house is beautiful. open and airy and decorated like an adult, instead of his and soonyoung's mish-mash of things they've acquired along the way. it feels bigger than it looks on the outside, too, thanks to the second level that wraps around the downstairs, leaving open, high ceilings. the kitchen area is fit for someone who cooks a lot, which junhui clearly does.

watching him settles the uneasy feeling in his stomach, which is nice.

the words want to come out, but he has a hard time with them until junhui starts humming a song wonwoo recognizes from the recommendations he periodically receives, and they practically trip over each other on the way off his tongue. "soonyoung made me watch one of your movies. he's having a whole marathon."

junhui goes quiet for an excruciating handful of seconds, then asks, "how was it?" and he could mean the movie itself or the whole watching experience, wonwoo isn't sure.

"the movie was fine," he replies, going for the first option. "you're good."

junhui seems to sense that there's more to it. "but?" he asks as he turns away from the stove. his eyes land on wonwoo's face, his expression serious.

"it was weird to watch you be someone else," wonwoo replies honestly.

he laughs. it's the last thing wonwoo expected. "imagine _being_ different people for years and you'll understand why i needed to take a break."

wonwoo feels the corners of his mouth turn up. "are you happy to be doing it again?" he asks.

"mm, i think it'll be fun to be on a set again, climb into someone else's shoes now that i know who i am," junhui answers, then, "this is almost done. get some dishes for me? they're over there," pointing at a cabinet well within his reach. "help yourself to anything in the fridge. water, soda, beer if you want it."

if someone had told him six months ago that wen junhui would be cooking him lunch and letting him poke around in his fridge, he would've thought they were insane. but he slides off his stool and retrieves the things junhui asked for — he _definitely_ could've gotten them himself with minimal effort — and pads to the fridge. it looks exactly like the rest of the cabinetry, especially a larger pantry-like section on the other side of the stove. he wouldn't be able to tell the difference if he hadn't seen junhui open it earlier. 

he takes a water bottle back to his claimed seat, and junhui places a plate in front of him as he's opening it. he doesn't say anything, just brings his own to the spot opposite wonwoo.

wonwoo doesn't really cook. time is a problem. soonyoung _definitely_ doesn't cook. they eat a lot of food that's quick and easy, and have an encyclopedic knowledge of the best cheap restaurants around their place. it's kind of amazing to him that junhui made a noodle dish out of things he had in his kitchen and it doesn't taste terrible. he didn't necessarily expect it to — he did say he took private lessons and all, on top of being a decent cook to begin with — but it's impressive nonetheless. he's eaten maybe half of it before junhui pulls him back to earth.

"not that i'm upset you dropped by, but i'm surprised you're not locked away in your room to study."

"you assume i'm not quizzing myself in my head."

"i'm not interesting enough," junhui jokes. "i get it."

wonwoo shrugs. "at least you can cook."

"ah, the real reason you came over."

"obviously," he deadpans through a mouthful of food, waiting until he swallows before explaining properly. "i try to give myself a little break on saturdays. i meant to give you the air plant the next time i saw you. today seemed like a good day for it."

"because you found out it's my birthday?"

wonwoo could pretend that's the only reason, or he could tell him the whole truth. lying for no reason doesn't seem like the best option. if junhui was going to cut him out, he would've done it already, probably. they're friends or something. it's not that nuts.

"that, and i guess i wanted to see the actual you instead of what was on my tv," he says, watching junhui's face for a reaction.

he doesn't give him one — of course he doesn't — just shrugs, says, "fair enough," and focuses on his lunch.

it's mildly obnoxious, the way he so easily rolls with whatever wonwoo throws at him, but he feels himself smirk anyway.

  
  
wonwoo helps him with dishes when they're done, after a discussion about cats and junhui's possible new addiction to plants, while listening to some of the best gossip from the film sets he's been on — all names removed. wonwoo had no idea there was so much _drama._ soonyoung would probably be able to guess all the names, he thinks, and that's enough to make him remember that his roommate might be wondering where he is at some point. he's dried the last dish. he has no real reason to stay. so he says as much, and collects his shoes, and junhui stands there while he pulls them on, and then it's that stupid awkward goodbye moment because wonwoo doesn't have a book to stare at.

"thanks for the plant," junhui says, gracefully giving him an out.

"yeah, of course. thanks for lunch. i'll see you later."

***

the chattering starts the second soonyoung walks in. wonwoo already has a headache from staring at entirely too many words, and he's behind because his boss decided to be an asshole. he hasn't had time to eat, despite food from junhui sitting in his fridge. at least the fish smell coming off him isn't as overpowering as usual.

"i met an _angel_ today," he says, before he's even shut the door. "unbelievably attractive. i don't understand what he's doing working in a zoo when he could be acting or modeling or being my sugar baby."

wonwoo snorts. his head protests. "wouldn't you need to be rich for that?"

"i'll pay him in kisses. wonu, you don't understand."

"i don't think you understand how sugar babies work," he interjects.

soonyoung is unfazed, moving about the kitchen.

"he has these really cute dimples on the sides of his chin sometimes," he continues. "who has chin dimples?"

"your angel, allegedly."

"and he has the best laugh. his entire face scrunches up. i wanted to go down on him behind a dumpster."

wonwoo puts his pen down and rubs his fingers into his temples as he groans. loudly. "thank you for that horrifying image."

his traitor of a brain points out that, objectively speaking, the guy would be pretty lucky if he did. he's been that guy more than once, years ago when they thought they might have feelings that went beyond best friends — and quickly realized they didn't — though a dumpster wasn't involved. he never thinks about it now, but soonyoung knows what he's doing.

"no problem," his roommate chirps. "anyway, he's incredibly gorgeous. i bumped into him on my way to the tigers. literally. i'm going to have a bruise," he rambles, probably pointing at some limb even though wonwoo has his head hung. "but it was worth it. he apologized so much and was very worried he had hurt me, so he bought me a corn dog."

"a corn dog," wonwoo repeats.

"it was very romantic, but i guess you had to be there. he works with the monkeys."

"cool," wonwoo mumbles, and he tunes out for a second, because his head _really_ hurts. he hears soonyoung say something, but doesn't grasp what it is, so he just says, "that's great."

"i said i think he's a serial killer."

wonwoo looks up and finds soonyoung pouting at him from the fridge, says, "i'm sorry. i have a headache, but i was listening up until the monkeys, i promise."

"it's okay. we're going out tomorrow, so i'll be home late," soonyoung tells him quietly, carefully sliding water and a cup of ramen onto the table next to wonwoo's things. he glares, then holds out his pinky. wonwoo sighs, but he locks his own with soonyoung's anyway. it's dumb, but it's a thing they've done forever, their way of saying "i love you and i'm more worried about you than usual" without actually saying it, and "i'll be fine, i love you, too."

wonwoo reaches for the cup when soonyoung releases his finger a few seconds later. he isn't sure how soonyoung knew he hadn't eaten. maybe he was guessing. either way. 

"i'll be in my room if you need me," he says, from the kitchen again where he's picking up his own food, "or if you want to watch tv or anything."

wonwoo nods and thanks him. on his way out, he calls across the room, "hey, i hope the date goes well," and soonyoung turns to smile at him. he means it. maybe if soonyoung has someone to distract him, he and junhui— he punches the brakes on the thought and shakes his head, unsure where the hell it came from. he pulls the ramen closer and worries about the tangible things in front of him instead.

  
  
as promised, soonyoung doesn't get home when he usually does the next night. it's a blessing and a curse, because wonwoo's headache is worse, he has a fever, a cough is creeping up on him, the whole miserable thing. he should've known it was coming. and look — he's pretty low maintenance, even when he's sick, but soonyoung always takes care of him in his annoying soonyoung way anyhow and he _misses_ it.

ironic, when all he wanted the night before was for him to go away.

it's so bad that when his phone rings on the bed next to him he doesn't even look at it, just punches the button and says, "hi," which promptly sends him into a coughing fit.

"hey, are you alive?" the caller asks when it subsides.

junhui. god.

"for now."

"i was going to ask if you wanted to go somewhere with me because i'm tired of being in my house, but i'm going to take that as a no," he says. there's some shuffling in the background that pierces wonwoo's skull.

"raincheck."

junhui goes quiet for god only knows how long. wonwoo shuts his eyes. eventually, he hears some clattering of metal in the background and groans.

"headache?"

"fever. whole deal."

"sorry," he says, and he pitches his voice a fraction lower, turns down the volume on it. "do you think you can make it to your door in an hour or so? or can soonyoung grab something for you?"

"he's on a date, but i can," wonwoo replies. he doesn't have the energy to be confused. "you shouldn't come—"

"not going to stay, only going to bring you something my mother used to make for me and you need to promise you'll eat it."

the mere idea of food and the reverberating sound of chewing is not a pleasant one. but it's junhui. he's not going to take no for an answer, probably.

"yeah, okay, sure," wonwoo replies.

"good. i'll call you when i get there to make sure—"

"no."

"no?"

"can you stay on the phone?" he asks. he has no idea why. the fever.

"i kind of need both hands. and it might be too loud for you."

"i need to take more ibuprofen anyway," he argues, dragging himself into a seated position. "leave me on the counter. i don't want to fall asleep." he's also alone, and can't focus on work, and his head doesn't want him to watch tv. he can't remember the last time he's been this bored. at least there will be a person there to talk to, if he wants. 

junhui goes quiet, and noise in the background stops, like he's completely frozen, for a few seconds before wonwoo hears a quiet thunk. junhui's voice sounds farther away when he says, "okay, but you have to hang up if it's too loud."

"promise," wonwoo replies, on the way to his own kitchen for more water.

the dulled noises pick up again, and he ends up back in bed, with speaker on and his phone a decent distance from his head, as junhui moves about his kitchen. it could be the distance, with the speakerphone on both ends, but it still sounds like he's being more careful with things like cabinet doors and moving items around than he was on his birthday, when wonwoo was there.

as a game, he tries to guess what junhui could possibly be making — rice of some kind is obvious from the sound of it hitting the pot, and there's plenty of chopping against what he knows is a large, wooden cutting board. the fridge opens a few times. wonwoo assumes the dish is somewhere in the realm of chicken soup, but junhui is chinese, so who knows.

"did you fall asleep on me?"

"no. i was trying to guess what you're making."

"chicken soup, basically, but better."

"i heard rice."

"congee. you trust me, right?" more knife sounds. "i think i know what you like by now."

"that's—" wonwoo is cut off by his own stupid lungs trying to eject themselves from his chest. "true. sorry."

"you really don't have to apologize, but i'm absolutely leaving this food outside your door, and please just burn the containers i bring it over in."

"that's very sweet, thank you."

junhui snorts. "stop talking. save your energy, unless you have penguin news."

wonwoo digs through the fever-induced brain fog, trying to remember anything that may have come up in the last few weeks. "nothing about the usual three. they're rehabilitating a new female, though. daikon. she's not in the main habitat yet, but soonyoung says she's very smart."

"is he the one responsible for all of these food names?"

"he named soju, but that's it."

"fascinating update, thank you, now hush."

wonwoo does, and tries to not think about work for once. time is a lie, so he's not sure how long it is before junhui starts humming quietly, but it helps take his mind off all the shit he'll have to catch up on as soon as he can. it seems to be a habit, when he's in the kitchen at least. he's not even sure junhui realizes how often he does it.

"do you sing in the shower, too?" wonwoo asks.

"too?"

"you hum. now, and on your birthday, and any time you've cleaned up after we eat here."

"i barely notice, but you're probably right. i have no comment on my shower habits."

"ah, of course you don't. who media trained you?"

"an incredibly cranky old woman when i was about fourteen, and jisoo's boyfriend."

"an agent dating a publicist? i'd hate to think about the number of people they could ruin."

junhui laughs. "oh, tons."

it's still so _weird,_ how he talks about it all like it's so _normal._ he keeps himself out of the drama that usually embroils everyone eventually, like it really is just a job. soonyoung would love him even more than he already thinks he does. will? fuck, wonwoo doesn't know, but it's really not the time.

there's some sizzling happening on the other end of the line when he mentally checks back in, after another absurd coughing fit that junhui doesn't react to at all.

"i didn't know congee required a frying pan."

"that doesn't sound like trusting me," junhui challenges, unbothered.

wonwoo sighs, and everything kind of quiets again, except for the far away sounds of junhui moving around the kitchen. his phone says they've been on the call for almost forty-five minutes. he genuinely isn't sure where the time has gone, but again, fever, he figures. time is a lie and all. he's tired, but the idea of food doesn't seem too terrible if it's coming from junhui's kitchen.

it's like he _knows._ wonwoo hears a cabinet open and close again, then, "you still awake over there?"

"yeah."

"i'll be there soon. get out of bed and clear all of your work off the table so you have room to eat."

"how do you know i have work all over the table?"

"are you saying you don't?"

"you suck."

"wow, sick wonwoo is mean."

"i'll clear the table so i have room to eat," he concedes, and he hears the snap of more than one plastic lid as he drags himself out of bed again.

"i don't want whatever germs you could be sharing with the world right now. i'll text you when it's outside your door and i'm gone. i should hang up, though."

"okay. hey, junhui?"

"jeon wonwoo," he replies, and wonwoo feels a pull at the corner of his mouth.

a marionette string, and junhui's holding the controller. 

"thanks."

"you haven't learned that i love doing this yet?"

"i have. that doesn't mean i don't appreciate it, especially today."

"thank you," junhui says quietly. "go, i'll text you."

"going. bye."

**catboy**

your delivery has arrived.  
and i'm clear of the hallway.

got it.  
thanks again.

you're welcome, as usual.  
i hope you feel better soon.  
call me if you want to whine some more. 😉

🙄

🥰

how the hell did your embarrassing ass get famous?

lots of movies.

you're not wrong, i guess.

  


junhui packed almost everything separately, which explains why he insisted wonwoo make room on the table. he's grateful, though. he can load up a bowl of congee — of which there are two, because wen junhui is a fucking saint — with as much chicken or pork as he wants, and there are a few different vegetables to choose from — presumably all some sort of good for his flu. there's even extra broth, swimming with spices, and some other toppings.

and it's all incredible. he can't finish it, his appetite is horrible, but it gives new meaning to the idea of sweating a fever. wonwoo has no idea what he did in a previous life to deserve being treated like this. it's not something he wants to analyze too closely, which is very unlike him, but it's a very bad time for it even if he _did_ want to.

he gets everything into the fridge, in the section that's unspokenly designated as his — where any food is _not_ okay to steal — before washing his utensils and going back to bed.

  
  
he woke up in the middle of the night, checked to make sure soonyoung made it home okay, felt like shit about not waiting up for him because he probably wanted to gush about his date, and went back to sleep. again. or at least he thinks that's how it went. his fever hasn't quite broken and everything is still a little hazy, but he's hungry and hears soonyoung moving around, so he might as well drag himself out of bed. he considers a mask, but at this point, if his roommate is going to get sick, he's going to get sick.

soonyoung spots him as he shuffles into the shared space, from his spot at the table, and looks momentarily horrified before he says, "you look like you just came back from the dead. should've told me you were sick."

"feel like it, honestly. better than yesterday, though."

"where'd you get the food?" he asks, and of course he saw it. the milk is sitting next to him on the table.

"a friend brought it over."

"you don't have friends," soonyoung says slowly, suspicious. "no offense."

he's right. son of a bitch.

"how was your date?" wonwoo asks as he takes everything junhui brought him out of the fridge, in a very transparent attempt to change the subject. "sorry i was asleep."

"good," he replies, perking up a bit. "we got some street food and walked along the river and talked."

"that sounds nice."

and like something he'd never really be able to do with junhui, he thinks.

not that he'd want to.

christ, the fever can't be trusted.

"yeah, it was. i like him. i think we might go to the zoo next weekend."

"don't you both work at the zoo?"

"sure, but it's different than seeing it as a guest," soonyoung says with a shrug. "i almost never see the monkeys and he almost never sees the aquatics."

"i guess that's true."

he focuses on getting a bowl of food in the microwave, and runs through all of the work he needs to catch up on in his head. he's been banned from the office, but that doesn't stop his boss from sending him tasks to do at home, sick or not. taking yesterday off was already a gift.

soonyoung waits until the microwave stops to casually say, "i met his roommate when i walked him home. hot and single. i could set you up."

he does this more than wonwoo would like — trying to get him a boyfriend or at least laid — but it's not one of his more annoying habits, in the grand scheme of things, so he's never _upset_ about it.

he has to consciously unclench his jaw to say, "that's not necessary," this time.

being sick makes him cranky.

"you work too much," soonyoung presses, which is understandable and he's not wrong but that's not the point.

"i'm good, really," he replies, sliding his bowl onto the table and sitting down.

soonyoung squints at him. a few seconds later, his eyes widen and he asks, "is this about your friend?"

"what? no," wonwoo answers by default, no thought just an automatic denial.

"uh huh. well, let me know when you want to talk about it. i have to get going."

he scoffs as soonyoung stands, which makes him cough, but there's really nothing to talk about, he thinks.

  
  


**catboy**

how are you feeling?

still sick, but better than yesterday.  
might be able to get some work done.  
i think you might be a witch.

i assure you that i am not.

the next time you're going stir crazy.  
suggest something good and i might abandon my studying.

nope.  
you already said raincheck.  
you have no choice.  
i'm going to make you go to a dog cafe with me.  
and force you to make up stories about them as if they're people.

...  
cat cafe and you've got a deal.

cat cafe to make up stories about them the next time i'm going stir crazy.  
cool.  
i'm screenshotting this.  


you probably should.

done.  
later, jeon wonwoo.

the full name still? really?

😏

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hugs for everyone reading this in real time. i was... not up to finishing this last week. next chapter might come out faster, but no promises. <3


	5. i just can't tell you why

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> author throws hands up in exasperation because her characters are morons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wanted to get closer to saturday again, but alas. this is such a mess, but [redacted] are messy. split pov, which will probably be common going forward. junhui first, wonwoo second in this case. oh also conversations about sex exist, i guess. and drinking.
> 
> everyone welcome seoksoon to the party.

"that one," junhui says, pointing at an orange tabby.

"owner was an elephant trainer in the circus," wonwoo says without much thought. "he got stepped on and died, had no family, and the cafe adopted him."

junhui gapes at him, but he just shrugs and picks up his coffee.

it took a little over a week for wonwoo to get caught up on work. he called to ask if he could convince junhui to cash in his raincheck, and while junhui wasn't exactly tired of being in his house, the cat cafe thing was appealing enough to pretend he was. it's one he's been to before, where the staff know who he is, and jeonghan has given him carte blanche to visit. it's hard for anyone to say anything bad about finding him in a cat cafe.

wonwoo takes a sip before he shoots back, "black one in the corner behind me."

"found in a pumpkin someone was carving for halloween. cow cat by the door when we came in."

"was a banker in berlin in his previous life," wonwoo replies breezily. "and not particularly faithful to his wife."

"assistants?"

"prostitutes. siamese with the couple over there."

"too perfect to have ever been anything except a cat or have a tragic backstory."

"agreed."

junhui hums and considers his next target. wonwoo watches him, leaned back in his chair, expression blank, ready for him when he says, "grey tabbies cuddled on the cat tree by the window."

"raised by chickens on a farm. transform into a singer-songwriter duo at night and play open mic nights at bars."

"american country music?"

"naturally."

wonwoo scans the room and there's a tiny break in the back and forth and junhui's brain just… does it: "when's your birthday, anyway?"

if it catches him off guard, he doesn't show it. he's still scanning as he answers, "next month. the seventeenth," and without missing a beat, he gestures over junhui's shoulder with his cup. "tiny white one in the cat bed behind you."

only a few weeks away at this point. junhui files the info away and swivels his head to look for the cat in question, because he doesn't remember seeing it. he finds the bed, but all he can see of the cat is a tail with cream colored rings. "was a lemur, and then a daycare teacher that died in an unfortunate finger painting accident."

"that seems unnecessarily macabre."

"you said an owner was an elephant trainer that got stepped on and died."

"yeah, an owner, not the cat," wonwoo argues, but his feigned expression of horror cracks just enough that it makes junhui laugh, which makes wonwoo laugh, which makes the very large maine coon sleeping on the table between them wake up. wonwoo strokes the area between the cat's ears and apologizes softly, lowering his head to rest on his arm on the table so he can watch it fall asleep again.

and okay, junhui knew. they've talked about cats. he _knew_ wonwoo liked them, but this might be bordering on his own level of adoration for felines, if not exceeding it. he went around petting as many as he could while junhui got their coffees and some treats. his white, patterned shirt is covered in cat hair — it's hard to tell if it or junhui's black outfit is faring worse at this point — and he doesn't seem to care.

he might be staring.

in his defense, the cat is really cute, but it's more than that. wonwoo always feels busy, in a way, some part of him always preoccupied. it's not a bad thing; junhui knows he has a lot on his plate. but in this particular moment, it's like he's not thinking about anything except the cat blinking slowly in front of him. not even a little. seeing him genuinely relaxed is new. nice.

he clears his throat and checks his phone, says, "our time is almost up. anyone else you want to pet? or we could stay longer, if you want to keep hanging out with them."

"i should get home. law student things," wonwoo answers, eyes never leaving the cat and making no effort to move.

junhui feels guilty dragging him away, but not as guilty as he'd feel if he let him continue to avoid his responsibilities, so he stands anyway. it works; wonwoo sighs but moves away from the cat, gives him one last head pet, and grabs his coffee. they're headed in two different directions when they get outside, but wonwoo stops him.

"i don't like surprises, by the way, so don't try anything."

"for your birthday?" junhui asks and he nods. "what about coming back here?"

wonwoo looks at him for a second, with his straw hanging between his lips, and shrugs. "sure."

"how do i screenshot real life?"

"it's more cats," he says, rolling his eyes. "i won't try to back out."

  


***

  
wonwoo calls a few days later.

junhui checks the time before he answers, knows without knowing how he knows that wonwoo probably just got out of the shower and is sitting down with his piles of books and files and whatever else he has to deal with today, but soonyoung should be home.

"hey, is everything okay?" he answers, holding the phone against his shoulder so he can mark his place in the book on his lap.

"why wouldn't it be?"

"i don't know, you don't usually call on weeknights." short texts, maybe.

"soonyoung is out."

"same guy as a couple of weeks ago?"

"yeah. it's really quiet. i didn't realize how much i'd gotten used to the nearly constant hum of having someone else around."

junhui has known him for long enough, and they went through a similar scenario when wonwoo was sick, so he thinks he knows what might be helpful. "i was going to make dinner. you okay with being left on the counter?"

"if—"

"no. stop," junhui interrupts, shaking his head at the empty room. "has soonyoung ever told you that you overthink things? it's not like i'm asking you to marry me."

"no comment," wonwoo replies, only after a moment of silence.

junhui laughs on his way to his kitchen area, taps the speaker icon and sets his phone on the counter. "what are you working on tonight?"

"a lot of reading," he sighs.

"okay, well, you've been abandoned on my counter, unless you want me to put you near the bamboo. she likes being told she's pretty."

wonwoo hums. "maybe next time."

  


***

  
junhui is playing a game on his phone, waiting to be hungry, when it rings in his hands.

wonwoo, another weeknight.

"hey, another date?"

wonwoo sighs. "you could say that. i've been banished to a coffee shop."

"ew."

"i, through no fault of my own, know more than i'd like to about your promiscuous past, so don't pretend the idea grosses you out."

"you could come work here, if you want," junhui offers, barely thinking about it. "quiet but not too quiet."

"that's not—" he starts, then seems to catch himself. junhui grins. "that would be nice, actually."

"see how much easier that was than questioning whether i mean it?" junhui jokes.

"yeah, yeah," wonwoo replies, probably with an eye roll attached, he thinks. "i'm heading your way."

"any dinner requests?"

"i had dinner."

"any late night snack requests, then?"

all junhui can hear for a moment is traffic, then: "i could go for pancakes."

"breakfast. excellent. see you soon."

  
  
wonwoo shows up with a bag slung over one shoulder, earbuds in his ears. he looks tired, but junhui isn't sure if it's physical or mental exhaustion from being pushed out of his apartment between showering and getting back to work. maybe both. junhui smiles at him and moves to the side, gesturing for him to come in.

he gets a small smile in return as wonwoo steps inside. he removes one of the earbuds and palms it as he kicks off his shoes, says, "i really appreciate this," as he follows junhui to the kitchen.

"you can work anywhere. here, or over at the coffee table, or… anywhere. out on the terrace if you want, or the balcony upstairs."

"here is fine," he says, setting out a pile of file folders and his laptop next to his phone and free earbud before hanging his bag over the back of the stool.

"okay. help yourself to drinks," junhui tells him. "tell me when you're up for pancakes. i'm going to go back to playing games on my phone."

wonwoo locks eyes with him, smiling again, a little bigger this time.

"what?"

"i just can't believe i ever thought that _i_ was too boring for _you._ "

junhui grins. "told you there was nothing to worry about."

he makes his way back to the couch and pulls his phone out again. it should feel strange, maybe, to have wonwoo there and _not_ try to be any sort of host. he forgets about it when he hears wonwoo speak softly to the bamboo, then again some minutes later when he mumbles along with whatever he's listening to, and he realizes the tables have turned — wonwoo is junhui's ambient noise instead of the other way around, and he's totally fine with it.

  
  
an hour or so passes before wonwoo texts him one word: _pancakes?_

texts him.

he looks up and finds wonwoo turned on his stool, watching him. "i can _see_ you," junhui says, laughing, but he stands and makes his way towards the kitchen.

"it was quiet. i didn't want to startle you by talking," wonwoo replies as junhui gathers ingredients, setting them down across from his impromptu desk. "are you _making_ pancakes?"

"it's faster than ordering them, and they're better. you know you can't live off ramen and takeout for the rest of your life, right?"

"not the rest of my life, just the rest of law school," he quips. he's twirling his pen, both earbuds out in front of him, and has pulled his legs up on the stool the same way junhui knows he does his chair at home.

"and afterwards?"

"i'm sure i'll find someone willing to cook for me."

junhui snorts. "for the rest of your life? good luck with that."

he laughs quietly, then returns to his work until junhui slips a plate next to him.

  
  
he stays for another two hours, some of it spent ogling junhui's video game consoles. junhui orders a car to take him home — when he notes that the coffee shop would be closing — so he doesn't have to walk so late.

nothing remarkable happens when he leaves, just thanks and a wave and "talk to you later," but the house feels empty, somehow.

  


***

**jeon wonwoo**

they went to the zoo, junhui.  
on a date.

what's wrong with that?

they work at the zoo.

you've lost me.

ugh nevermind.  
they're staying at his boyfriend's place tonight.  
do you want to come over for a while?  
i could use help memorizing.

you could've started with that.  
i'm leaving jisoo's office, i'll be there in like five minutes.

  
  
wonwoo answers the door in a sleeveless shirt and track pants. it's not an inappropriate outfit for sitting around one's apartment in july, but they met at the end of winter. he hasn't actually seen wonwoo in his apartment since it started getting hot, and. well. wonwoo smiles at him, leaves the door open and goes back to the table, pulling his legs up onto his chair.

junhui, for the briefest moment, considers running away.

which is ridiculous. they're _arms._ he just wouldn't have expected them to be so… meaty. how does he have the time, frankly. he doesn't want to know.

wonwoo has gone right back to whatever he was doing, textbook and notes spread in front of him and laptop open, empty water bottle within reach.

"when's the last time you ate?" junhui asks, finally composing himself enough to get inside.

"had lunch."

"that was hours ago. water?"

"not sure."

junhui sets his bag down and goes to the fridge to get a new bottle, switches it out for the empty one and sits across from him before pulling his own water out of his bag.

wonwoo doesn't look up, but he asks, "how's jisoo?"

"he's fine. needed to talk about movie scheduling stuff."

wonwoo hums and reaches for the bottle without looking away from his textbook and that's when it all goes a little bit sideways, because wonwoo is unaffected as always and junhui is gay and hasn't been fucked for well over a year.

"choke me."

he doesn't even mean it, he doesn't think, or at least if he does it's not wonwoo-specific.

arms.

wonwoo is barely paying attention, apparently, because he asks junhui to repeat himself, but in a sincere "i didn't hear you" way rather than an "i think i heard you but i need to make sure i heard you" way. thank god.

"show me. you said you could use help. you know if i'm good for anything it's memorization techniques."

"and feeding me, right?"

"of course. i'll be ordering us dinner, for the record."

wonwoo smirks at his book. "of course." he finishes writing something in his notes, then passes it across the table with his pen and shuts his book. "case law. i need to know, by plaintiff versus defendant, what they were about and who won. go in random order. you can check them off."

"there are like thirty cases here."

"that's not even close to everything, i'm working on them in chunks. some of them overlap, though, or were attempts to challenge existing rulings, so it's not as bad as it seems."

junhui scans the list and sighs. wonwoo's handwriting is terrible. he has no idea how long it'll take to get through, but he does know that breaks are important, so he sets a timer for thirty minutes on his phone.

wonwoo asks what he's doing.

"thirty minutes to get through what we can, we order food, do more while waiting for it, and break again to eat."

"is that your professional advice?"

"yes."

"fine," he says, gesturing towards the list with his head.

he crosses his arms, too, and that's all the reason junhui needs to focus on the task at hand. looking at the list means not seeing the arms. seems like the safest option.

  
  


———

  
  
he doesn't like junhui.

he did this same thing with soonyoung, and an ex in undergrad that he ended up fully parting ways with. he doesn't tend to have the time to let a lot of people in, so the lines get blurred a little. it's fine. the important thing is he can recognize it.

but he's been distracted by it; it's the only reason he's dumb enough to throw a rock when he knows soonyoung starts with paper the majority of the time. he mutters, "fuck," at the same time soonyoung cheers and throws himself into seokmin's arms, nearly taking the both of them to the floor.

it's their regularly scheduled monthly deep-cleaning day, but soonyoung is a gremlin and decided he was allowed assistance. _"we never said anything about not having help. invite your friend over,"_ he had said, as if it were that simple. and now wonwoo has to clean the bathroom and the living room, and there are _two_ people to clean the kitchen. there's no universe in which this is fair, especially since he's cleaned it the last three times.

"why do we rock paper scissors for the bathroom again?"

"you're the one who suggested it," soonyoung says, still laughing.

"it really doesn't seem fair," seokmin muses.

"thank you," wonwoo says, phone pinging in his pocket halfway through.

**catboy**

hey, you want to get lunch?

can't. 😞  
it's our cleaning day and i'm stuck with the bathroom.  
tomorrow?

sure.  
have fun.

how does one have fun scrubbing a toilet?

where's your creativity?  
freestyle rap to the brush noises.  
practice your beatboxing.  
sing really loudly but go silent in the middle of a line and see if he worries.  
time yourself.  
turn on the AR in pokemon go and see what's living in your shower.

sometimes you scare me, you know.  
i'll text you later.

  
when he locks his phone and puts it back in his pocket, he finds both soonyoung and seokmin staring at him. "what?"

"mm," soonyoung hums. "nothing," he adds, before unceremoniously dragging seokmin into the kitchen.

  
  
after he's finished with the bathroom — no freestyling or beatboxing or pokemon go-ing done, but he definitely thought about it — he walks out and finds soonyoung on the counter, with seokmin between his legs. it doesn't look like they've done any cleaning. he clears his throat and seokmin steps away, only so far to drop his forehead to soonyoung's shoulder. who is grinning in his direction.

couples are gross.

"he got called to work," soonyoung explains. "we were saying goodbye."

"uh huh."

"i felt guilty about helping him anyway," seokmin adds. "this is your thing."

whether it's true or not, seokmin gives soonyoung another kiss, soonyoung pouts, and seokmin leaves.

the door has barely shut before soonyoung asks, "who texted earlier?"

"no one."

soonyoung squints at him. it's unclear if he's trying to be intimidating. "i don't know why you're lying, but you're lying."

"i'm not—" he tries to argue, but he's interrupted by his phone. again. he doesn't even look at it, which is his first mistake. the second is answering it in front of his roommate, because it's junhui, and the adrenaline kicks in because soonyoung is _right there._

"open your door," junhui says, "i don't have a free hand to knock."

wonwoo's brain ignores the obvious _what the fuck do you mean open my door_ question and goes with: "but you had one to call me?"

"yes. pizza is getting colder by the second."

soonyoung is looking at him in confusion, but amused confusion, like he's an alien doing something alien-like for the first time, probably feeling incredibly smug about his conclusion that the texting was in fact with _someone._

"you know he's—" wonwoo starts, and soonyoung looks even more confused, and what the fuck is happening right now.

"i know. it's okay with me, if it's okay with you."

it would be so much easier if soonyoung knew, but he's been hiding it for so long at this point that he almost doesn't want to let anyone in on the secret. and what if he does something insane?

"you're serious."

"yes. and risking a wrist injury if i hold this box much longer."

wonwoo can feel soonyoung watching him from the counter as he crosses the room to the door, phone still against his ear. "hey, soonyoung?"

"everything okay? please don't tell me you have a stalker who's demanding your cooperation or they'll kill me, i'd feel terrible. oh my god, was someone kidnapped?"

junhui snickers on the other end of the line. on the other side of the _door._

"what the fuck. no. you need to promise me you're not going to freak out in ten seconds," wonwoo says carefully.

he has time to ask why he'd freak out, but wonwoo's only answer is hanging up and pocketing his phone, then opening the door. he grabs the pizza — "when did you order pizza?" soonyoung asks — and makes eye contact with junhui, trying to silently ask, again, if he's sure. he nods, so wonwoo steps back to let him enter.

it feels like a dream, or like he's watching it happen from the other side of a two-way mirror because this is an elaborate psychological experiment. junhui is only looking at him, but soonyoung's wide eyes are darting between the two of them, and he clamps a hand over his mouth when junhui asks if there were any pokemon in the shower.

"i didn't look," wonwoo says, bringing the box to the table and taking a slice for himself. he sits and gestures for junhui to do the same. "i'm not sure how long this will take," he says, nodding his head in soonyoung's direction.

oftentimes, it's best to let him process on his own.

a solid thirty seconds pass before he finally remembers how to speak, and he starts with yelling at wonwoo. " _this_ is your friend? _how_ could you not tell me? i can't believe you didn't tell me!"

"it's my fault," junhui replies calmly.

"hey, very nice to meet you, big fan, but it's definitely his fault," soonyoung rambles at a polite volume, then directs his attention back to wonwoo and switches back to loudly whining. "we're _best friends._ how long?"

"i don't know, like three months?"

"closer to four," junhui corrects. "it's nice to meet you, too. wonwoo talks about you a lot."

"he'd better," soonyoung snaps. safe to say he isn't going to act embarrassingly enamored, wonwoo thinks. "four months. you brought us pi—" he starts again, but he has another revelation. wonwoo can practically see the light bulbs turning on. hell, it's a string of fairy lights at this point. "the food. the client. it's been him the entire time."

"yeah. i'm sorry i—"

"his birthday. oh my god, you _left._ did you…"

"go hang out at his house because i couldn't watch more of his movies?" wonwoo finishes the question. "yes."

"of course you've been to his house. christ," he says, and then he goes quiet.

for too long, honestly.

junhui reaches into the pizza box for a slice and breaks the silence. "there's plenty of pizza. i heard it was cleaning day and figured you guys could use lunch."

"i can't believe this," soonyoung finally mumbles, shaking his head. he seems to have come back from the shock of everything, at least. "wen junhui is in my apartment," he says. wonwoo would laugh if he didn't vividly remember the feeling. "you're not as hot as i thought you'd be."

"thanks?" junhui replies.

he's smirking. enjoying this. he's nuts.

"your wardrobe, too," soonyoung continues, scanning junhui from his countertop perch. "no wonder you get along with wonu."

wonwoo rolls his eyes. he dresses just fine when he leaves the house. he wears suits or at least a nice blazer to the office, for fuck's sake.

"i can't exactly walk around in my designer clothes."

soonyoung hums. "i suppose that's true. you have them, though."

wonwoo had never thought about it, but soonyoung is right. he probably has at least a few nice pieces. incredible suits, at the very least.

"a separate closet, yeah. a lot of stuff taken home from sets or shoots."

he shakes his head and watches them continue to have a pretty normal conversation. soonyoung's questions are geared towards junhui's job and the whole being famous thing, but he's not creepy about it — more like genuinely curious — and junhui answers them all without pretense. he didn't expect any different from the junhui he knows, but it's still so surreal. soonyoung refuses to leave the counter, though, so he has to be freaking out a little, even if he's covering it well. 

"i should go so you two can get back to your cleaning," junhui says eventually, before poking wonwoo in the arm. "we still going to the cat cafe on sunday?"

"obviously."

"cat cafe on sunday?" soonyoung asks in disbelief. "how were you planning to ditch me for that? it's your _birthday._ "

"it's a whole day before. i figured you'd be with seokmin. we never do anything for it anyway."

"you could come along," junhui offers. "if you want."

soonyoung sighs dramatically. "no, he's right, i'll probably be with the boyfriend. please, take him, do whatever. i'm sure you know he doesn't take enough time off."

"i'm sitting _right_ here."

"am i wrong?" soonyoung retorts, at the same time junhui says, "he's not wrong."

"thrilled you two have met, truly. being hounded by you separately wasn't enough."

they both laugh. wonwoo should _not_ have let this happen.

"okay, my plants are calling," junhui announces. he waves, standing in front of the door, while he says, "soonyoung, nice to finally meet you. wonwoo, i'll talk to you later."

wonwoo waves back, soonyoung says something he doesn't hear because junhui smiles at him, and then he's gone.

it's so quiet he could probably hear a pin drop.

"are you breathing?" he asks soonyoung, taking a second slice of pizza.

"i should make you clean everything yourself," he replies, side eyeing him.

"you understand why i didn't tell you, right?"

soonyoung pouts. "yes, but how could you _not?_ " he whines, jumping from the counter and joining wonwoo at the table. "we don't lie."

"i know. i told myself i had extenuating circumstances."

"i guess that's fair."

"are you sure you're okay with him stealing me on sunday?"

"yes, if you answer one question."

"what?"

"four months, wonu," he says as he reaches into the box. "what are you doing? do you like him?"

"that's two questions."

soonyoung has another light bulb moment and mumbles, "oh my god," around a mouthful of pizza. thankfully he waits until he swallows to elaborate. "he's why you got bitchy when i mentioned seokmin's roommate."

"i was sick," wonwoo protests. "are you going to ask me something?"

"do you like him?" he repeats.

wonwoo sighs. "i don't know, okay? the last time i tried dating anyone, it was _you._ he's a friend."

soonyoung looks at him like he has something else to say, but he sighs instead, says, "okay, spend the day with your shiny new friend. i'm still here if you want to talk about it. watching my favorite movies is going to be so weird now."

the nonsequitur catches him off guard and he laughs. soonyoung grins, and that's the end of that.

  


***

  
five days later, the last of the sun has already set, taking the worst of the july heat with it.

he's been with junhui for hours. they visited the cat cafe for a while, and wonwoo assumed that would be it, but junhui had other ideas. he dragged him to the market, saying he needed some things to make dinner. back at his house, he revealed that his actual plan was to teach wonwoo how to make something. _"with help,"_ he had said; half of that help ended up being junhui laughing and telling him he was holding a knife wrong.

maybe he's being melodramatic. he could've gone home whenever. junhui wasn't holding him hostage. he just… stayed. the process was fun, and eating something he'd made himself was pretty cool. he could probably make it again, too. he supposes that was the point. and now they're on a small, flat section of his roof, by way of a ladder from the upstairs balcony — bottle of soju mostly for junhui, beer for wonwoo, on top of the drinks they had with dinner — which seems incredibly unsafe, but it's a nice night and the moon is gorgeous and wonwoo didn't particularly want to leave, so when junhui suggested it he said sure.

"i come up here a lot," he muses.

"to drink alone?"

junhui shrugs. they're facing the yard, but wonwoo sees it out of the corner of his eye before he answers. "i told you, i'm over the industry people and parties. drinking alone on my roof is a pretty ideal scenario."

"i wasn't trying to suggest it isn't. it's nice. i get it."

"can i ask you a question?"

"sure?"

"why me?"

wonwoo almost chokes on the sip of beer he took while he was waiting. "nicely played."

"thank you. honestly, though."

he never expected his own question from months ago to come back and bite him in the ass, because he wouldn't have thought junhui would feel the need to ask. it makes sense, though, that maybe he'd still worry somewhere deep down that wonwoo is only interested in being his friend for his career, despite evidence to the contrary.

it's a question he's tried to answer for himself — _why_ did he think he should be hanging out with his roommate's favorite actor? why did he let him in? — especially since soonyoung asked if he liked him the other night, but he's never been able to. the only thing he's certain of is that the _actor_ part of it all doesn't register most of the time, and sometimes throws him off balance for a second when it does.

he's calming. he doesn't mind that wonwoo is a workaholic. he _helped him study._ he reminds him to take care of himself. but soonyoung is and does all of those things sometimes, too.

"i don't know," he replies truthfully.

"that's a terrible answer. drink."

wonwoo glances at him, but his head is tipped to the side and he looks unimpressed despite the very subtle smirk, so wonwoo takes a long pull from his bottle. soonyoung made him do this once. it was a huge mistake then, and probably a worse mistake now. at least he's not drinking soju.

junhui pours a shot and looks at him expectantly. they've been up here for long enough that his first shots, before any of this, have probably started to hit his bloodstream — wonwoo feels like his first beer from dinner has — but it's hard to tell without more light to see his face.

wonwoo raises his eyebrows. "you should think about what you're doing. you probably have more to hide than i do, and you're drinking something stronger."

"i'll have to ask you hard questions, then."

"fine. why did you take a year off?" he's heard the rumors from soonyoung — a relationship with an idol turned sour — but he wants to know how much of it is the truth.

junhui exhales slowly. "you know _why._ i didn't know who i was. i figured that out because of a bad relationship, just like everyone said. have you ever slept with soonyoung?"

"jesus christ," wonwoo says, laughing.

"told you. hard questions."

he runs a finger over the top of his beer bottle. "yes, a few times. we were young and stupid and i'd never do it again." junhui still has a shot in his hand and he's determined to make him take it. "how many people have you slept with?"

it works.

"same question," junhui hums, pouring out more soju.

he should've expected it. "three," he answers, grabbing the shot from junhui's hand and tossing it back even though he doesn't have to. "including soonyoung. most public place you've fucked someone."

"if all of yours are going to be about my sex life, you're going to lose. empty dressing room in the middle of an awards show," junhui replies. wonwoo pinches the bridge of his nose. "oh, wait, does a handjob under a table at a restaurant count?"

"sure," wonwoo answers. getting the word out takes too much effort, and he takes a long sip from his bottle instead of analyzing why.

"how many have you been in love with?"

"of the three i've had sex with?"

"sure, or generally."

wonwoo thinks about it. the closest was probably soonyoung, because some part of him will _always_ love soonyoung more than anyone, but it's different than how he's pretty sure it should be. "none of them, i guess," he says. "i've always been more focused on school than boyfriends. i never necessarily wanted them, but it felt like i should. that's why soonyoung and i hooked up, basically."

"because you felt like you should?"

wonwoo shrugs. "we'd been friends for so long. it was confusing, i guess."

"yeah, i get that," junhui says quietly after a moment. another shot goes down his throat. his side profile is nice, with the moonlight and all. it's disgustingly cliche and he hates himself for thinking it, but they're already living a terrible movie trope right now, so why not go for broke.

"give me one of those," wonwoo sighs, holding his hand out between them. "what makes you happy? other than acting," he asks while junhui pours soju for him and passes it over.

he doesn't say anything, just waits for the glass to be passed back and takes another shot before turning to look at wonwoo. "something you'd change about yourself."

too many things. his incessant need for control and rigid routine, he almost says, but he realizes at the last second that doesn't seem to be as much of a problem with junhui. again, too much to think about, and he can feel his cheeks and ears heating up, because the first bits of soju are starting to hit. he doesn't drink much. junhui has so many damn moles on his face. how even.

"my eyesight is awful," he replies.

"i wonder why."

"books. screens. yeah."

"i was going to say genetics," junhui deadpans.

wonwoo snorts and stretches his legs out, empties his bottle. it's his turn, but his head feels like it's full of sludge.

junhui clears his throat, says, "we should go down to the balcony. the ladder gets hard to deal with." he gives wonwoo the bottle of soju and climbs down the ladder until his chest is level with the roof, then holds his hand out and asks for the bottle back. wonwoo leans forward to give it to him and he disappears for a second, then takes the empty beer bottle in the same way. he calls for wonwoo to come down, and he's there when he does, at the bottom of the ladder with his arms sort of up like he's worried wonwoo might fall.

junhui uses a hand on his upper arm to guide him to one of the chairs, then nudges his shoulder to get him to sit. "i'm going to get you a car home, okay?" he says, pulling out his phone.

wonwoo isn't sure what he sees, he feels _fine,_ but he looks concerned, so whatever. "fine," he agrees, and he closes his eyes and waits. he still doesn't want to go home. it's comfortable here. warm. or maybe that's the alcohol, too. he sighs, then feels a hand on his shoulder again.

"come on," junhui says softly. wonwoo stands. "inside and downstairs we go. soonyoung is home. he's going to meet you outside your building."

  
  
soonyoung holds his face in his hands when the car drives away, under a streetlight and wonwoo watches his eyes flick across his face. it makes him a little bit dizzy, but it's over soon enough. his roommate sighs, releases his head, and loops wonwoo's arm around his neck. it seems unnecessary, honestly, but it's comforting. maybe that's what he was going for.

when they get inside, he takes wonwoo to the table and tells him to stay. he does, and soonyoung comes back with water eventually. he opens the bottle and hands it to him before taking a seat in the other chair.

"brain sludge," wonwoo mumbles.

"yeah. haven't seen you like this since undergrad. almost forgot how funny it is."

wonwoo rolls his eyes.

soonyoung stares at him for a bit, long enough for him to drink half the bottle, and says, "i know you, wonu." carefully. "you like him."

he tries to deny it. he wants to, but he can't get his mouth to cooperate.

"yeah," he sighs. "fuck."

"god, i really need to find a new celebrity crush. come on, let's get you to bed."

wonwoo walks to his room on his own, somehow. soonyoung grabs clothes for him to sleep in and leaves him to change. he comes back, though, and turns the fan on low to move some air around. the last thing wonwoo feels before he falls asleep is soonyoung climbing into bed behind him and pulling him against his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all i want in life is for 96z to go to a cat cafe on vlive like kyeom did with the dogs.


End file.
